Impact SportWays hockey camps
Project
SportWays organises annual hockey camps at home and abroad for thousands of children. In this project, researchers are exploring whether participation in these camps is linked to long-term involvement of young people in hockey clubs. This involves involvement as a player, trainer or volunteer.
Over the past decades, SportWays (opens in new window) has built up a large international community of young hockey players, coaches and staff members. The organisation expects these camps to contribute to sporting and social engagement at club level. This assumption has hardly been researched to date. That is why the project team is investigating the extent to which camp participation contributes to strengthening the club structure and encouraging voluntary work among young people.
The impact of sports camps often extends beyond the summer alone. We want to highlight how camp participation can strengthen club loyalty and voluntary commitment among young people.
Audrey Kusters
Researcher
Objective
The project team is investigating whether, and to what extent, participation in SportWays hockey camps leads to long-term involvement in hockey clubs, as a player, trainer or volunteer.
The impact of sports camps often extends beyond the summer. We want to identify how camp participation can strengthen club loyalty and voluntary commitment among young people.
Method
The project team uses a questionnaire among participants, parents and staff members of SportWays hockey camps in the United Kingdom and abroad. Researchers analyse the data and establish links between camp participation and club involvement.
Expected results/products
The project will produce a research report with a visual Theory of Change. The report will provide insight into the relationship between camp participation and club involvement. It will also offer recommendations for SportWays, clubs and the Royal Dutch Hockey Association on the use of camps as a structural means of member retention and talent development.
Social impact
The research will increase knowledge about how sports camps connect young people to sports clubs in a sustainable way. This contributes to strengthening the sports infrastructure and the volunteer climate.
Contribution to education and research
A lecturer-researcher from the Sport Management & Sport Business research group is conducting the research with an intern and a student from the Bachelor's programme Sport Studies. This brings together practice-oriented research and education. Students learn to work with data, interview techniques and reporting in a socially relevant context. For the research group, the project provides new insights into sports participation and club development.
Project team AUAS
- Audrey Kusters
- Jan-Willem van der Roest
External partners
- SportWays
- Royal Dutch Hockey Association
- Hockey clubs
Sport Management & Sport Business research group
This project falls under the Sport Management & Sport Business research group. Want to know more?